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Windows 11 Windows 11 Insider 25H2 Insider Preview, Beta Channel
Windows Insider

Build 26220.7070

Build 26220.7070: Windows Insider Beta Channel, November 2025. Widget dashboard controls and fixes for desktop and File Explorer

In short

Adds Widget Board dashboard controls, updates recovery and Smart App Control, and includes fixes for desktop, File Explorer, the taskbar, and Settings.

Does it affect you? Applies to: Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels on Windows 11, version 25H2.

Build
26220.7070
Review notes Additional details from the official release notes (2) Read notes
  • In detail The Widget Board opens the first dashboard in the navigation bar instead of the most recently used dashboard when it is showing live weather content.
  • In detail In the dark-mode copy dialog, text scaling can cause the scrollbar and footer to disappear and show a white block instead.

The official sources are linked at the end of the page.

This is a test build for people in the Windows Insider Program. Features in it can change, be removed, or never reach regular Windows releases.

What changes

Improvements 6 changes

Widgets

Gradual rollout

For: Insiders with the latest-updates toggle on in the Dev and Beta Channels

  • When the Widget Board shows live weather, opening it takes you to the first dashboard in the navigation bar instead of the dashboard you last used. You can change the default by moving a dashboard to the top in Widgets Settings.1

Recovery

For: Everyone in the Dev and Beta Channels

  • Quick Machine Recovery offers a clearer recovery experience. When Quick Machine Recovery and Automatically check for solutions are both enabled, it runs one scan by default instead of repeating scans, and points you to recovery options if no fix is available right away.2
    Applies when the Quick Machine Recovery and Automatically check for solutions settings are both enabled.

Smart App Control

Gradual rollout

For: Insiders with the latest-updates toggle on in the Dev and Beta Channels

  • You can turn Smart App Control on or off without reinstalling Windows.3
    Change the setting under Windows Security > App & Browser Control > Smart App Control settings.

File Explorer

Gradual rollout 3 items

For: Insiders with the latest-updates toggle on in the Dev and Beta Channels

  • People icons return under the Activity column in File Explorer Home.4
  • File Explorer temporarily turns off its cloud-provider integration for StorageProvider APIs.5
    The integration supporting the StorageProvider APIs for cloud providers is temporarily disabled.
  • Frequently used and recently downloaded recommended files are temporarily unavailable in File Explorer.6

Fixes 5 changes

General

Gradual rollout

For: Insiders with the latest-updates toggle on in the Dev and Beta Channels

  • Interacting with the desktop no longer unexpectedly opens Task View for some people.7

File Explorer

Gradual rollout 2 items

For: Insiders with the latest-updates toggle on in the Dev and Beta Channels

  • Shift + Click or middle-clicking File Explorer on the taskbar opens a new File Explorer window again.8
  • The active File Explorer tab title displays in bold without needing to hover over it.9

Taskbar

Gradual rollout

For: Insiders with the latest-updates toggle on in the Dev and Beta Channels

  • The Automatically hide the taskbar setting no longer unexpectedly turns off after a message says a toolbar is already hidden on that side of the screen.10

Settings

Gradual rollout

For: Insiders with the latest-updates toggle on in the Dev and Beta Channels

  • Settings no longer hangs when you navigate to Network & Internet.11

New features 2 changes

Dev and Beta Channels

For: Dev Channel Insiders

  • Dev Insiders can switch to the Beta Channel while both channels receive the same 25H2-based updates. The opportunity closes when Dev moves to a higher build.12

Widgets

Gradual rollout

For: Insiders with the latest-updates toggle on in the Dev and Beta Channels

  • Numbered badges on dashboard icons show how many alerts each dashboard has. The badges clear when you leave a dashboard.13

Technical details

Data sheet · Security · Downloads · Components Click to collapse or expand

Data sheet

Released
2025-11-07
Type
Windows Insider build
VersionBuildChannel
— 26220.7070 Beta Channel
— 26220.7070 Experimental Channel

Security

No vulnerabilities are listed for this update.

Sources

Updated
Cited passages from Microsoft's official notes (13)
  1. 1. Launching the Widget Board when it’s showing live weather content will now open the first dashboard in your navigation bar instead of your most recently used dashboard blogs.windows.com
  2. 2. On PCs with the settings “quick machine recovery” and “automatically check for solutions” both enabled, QMR now runs a one‑time scan by default instead of repeating scans in a loop. blogs.windows.com
  3. 3. We’re updating Smart App Control (SAC) so you will now be able to switch SAC off or on without any clean install requirement. blogs.windows.com
  4. 4. We are re-enabling people icons under the “Activity” column in File Explorer Home blogs.windows.com
  5. 5. We are temporarily turning off the integration supporting the StorageProvider APIs for cloud providers blogs.windows.com
  6. 6. We are temporarily turning off support for frequently used and recently downloaded recommended files in File Explorer blogs.windows.com
  7. 7. Fixed an underlying issue which was causing interacting with the desktop to unexpectedly open Task View recently for some people. blogs.windows.com
  8. 8. Fixed an issue where Shift + Click (or middle clicking) on File Explorer in the taskbar wasn’t opening a new File Explorer instance. blogs.windows.com
  9. 9. Fixed an issue where the File Explorer active tab title might not display bolded until you hovered your mouse over it. blogs.windows.com
  10. 10. Fixed an issue which could lead to the “Automatically hide the taskbar” setting unexpectedly turning off, after seeing a message saying “a toolbar is already hidden on this side of your screen”. blogs.windows.com
  11. 11. Fixed an issue which could lead to Settings hanging when trying to navigate to the Network & Internet section. blogs.windows.com
  12. 12. If you are an Insider in the Dev Channel, you now have a window to switch from the Dev Channel to the Beta Channel if you would like. blogs.windows.com
  13. 13. Badges on the dashboard icons in the Widget navigation bar will now show numbers corresponding to the number of alerts from that dashboard. blogs.windows.com
Checked automatically: 8 of 8 checks passed, 13 quoted passages
  • Quotes found in the official pages: passed
  • Numbers found in the sources: passed
  • Vulnerabilities from the dossier only: passed
  • Links to allowed domains only: passed
  • Every official change covered: passed
  • Readable plain text: passed
  • Changes confirmed by the file list: passed
  • Sources agree: passed

A second AI read the text against the sources: correctness 3/5, clarity 4/5, completeness 3/5. How we work

Published by The Update Bureau. Written with AI from Microsoft's own documents, checked by rules and a second AI. How we work · Report a mistake